DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dragon Age, damn it!
A/N: This is yet another fill on the delicious Dragon Age Kink Meme LJ.
Chapter Two.
As the gates of Orzammar opened up to the surface, Neria let out a cry of happiness and ran into the dimness of the forest, where her Mabari hound whose life she'd saved at Ostagar and the remainder of her companions had camped, whilst Morrigan, Alistair and herself had descended into the depths of the earth. Barking with happiness at hearing his owner's cry, Dog went running for his owner and the two collided halfway. As Dog was content with licking Neria's face repeatedly as she rubbed his side eagerly, she looked up into the faces of the people who's company she'd missed and eagerly hugged them in greeting before introducing them to Oghren, who had decided to join their little…expedition.
"Where do we go now? My darling Neria"
Zevran asked as Oghren acquainted himself with the open air and his new companions. The running dialogue that he was blessing everyone in his immediate vicinity as he tried to comprehend the many number of distractions that came with being topside was crude to say the least but at least it afforded some semblance of distraction for those who had been stuck waiting for Neria to return. Of course, the exception would be Leliana who, Oghren had made no secret of the fact that he'd like to hump like a nug on heat.
Watching, Oghren for a moment, Neria stood up and was swallowed into a hug by the Antivan. Neria was happy to see Zevran, the two had become close friends after Neria had decided not to kill him for attempting to assassinate her. Now, Neria and Zevran shared a closeness that Neria wouldn't sacrifice for anything in the world. Letting go of her Dalish friend, Neria turned and announced to the large group:
"We return to Redcliffe. We have the allies that we need and Arl Eamon knows what we need to do next."
Her friends stilled at her words except for Oghren who had swung his axe into the thick trunk of a pine and was trying to get it out. When they had left Redcliffe to come to Orzammar, the Arl was alive, but barely. Despite the loss of his wife and the almost death of his son, Eamon had urged Neria and Alistair to gain the last of the Grey Warden alliances. Then there were the long discussions that Eamon and Neria had had in confidence regarding Alistair's claim to the throne over Teryn Loghain and she knew that she would eventually have to have the same conversation with Alistair soon.
The large group set out with Leliana, Neria and Wynne straying at the end of the entourage as they wandered through the forests of Frostback Mountain, picking herbs, berries and fungi for crafting and food whilst filling Neria in on the situation with Howe and Loghain that had developed since Neria had gone underground. It wasn't pretty. Strife was developing in Denerim and Loghain was becoming more of an autocratic ruler by the day, not to mention Alistair and Neria were still wanted to pay for Loghain's crimes at Ostagar.
When Leliana had finished updating Neria, the elf-mage could barely contain herself with her anger. She and Alistair were more than aware that they were thorns in Loghain's plans for Feraldan's throne...especially Alistair as the bastard son of the deceased King Marric. Not to mention the fact that Loghain had tried to kill her multiple times now. No, Neria wanted this finished and she would get it done one way or another.
Wynne who had been witness to Neria's fury whilst they had both in the Circle, urged Leliana to go ahead and fetch Alistair, knowing that if he couldn't placate Neria with words, he could use his Templar training to nullify anything that may explode out of her. She stopped the shaking elf from moving any more than was absolutely necessary, indeed she had only ever seen the young elf so angry twice in the years that Wynne had known Neria. The first time was when she had just been brought to the Circle and she had burnt everything around her in her anger and indignity at being torn away from her family and the second time, no one had understood why she had flooded the third floor of the Tower. All Wynne had seen was the younger Neria sitting in the library, reading a book and soon after there had been a cry of outrage and a snowstorm had ravaged the third floor which had quickly melted into water, flooding the whole floor.
"Child, if you are angry, then you will never be able to defeat Loghain."
Wynne's words made Neria begin to pace until Wynne stopped her and she opted to sit down and pick at the fraying hemline on her robe. She was still fuming but she knew Wynne had a point; she wouldn't be able to help anyone if she was angry.
"Neria?"
"I'm assuming, someone's told you about Loghain's been up to?"
She spat out at Alistair. Neria's anger still consumed her, wanting her to strike out with her magic in hopes of rectifying the problem. Alistair raised an eyebrow at the elf's mood, whilst he was as equally outraged as Neria at what the rumors said Loghain was doing with Arl Howe in Denerim, Alistair saw the solutions and outcomes that Neria clearly wasn't seeing whilst she was so angry.
"I did, Zevran took great delight in telling me, seeing as he was once hired by the man"
The irony wasn't lost to Neria on his comment. She knew Alistair was jealous to an extent of the closeness of the two elves' relationship- even when Neria had assured Alistair it was purely platonic when he had questioned her about the nature. Hearing Alistair's disdain for Zevran however, seemed to placate her anger to a certain extent.
"Do you think he knows what we're planning?"
Neria finally asked as they meandered along the pathway, it sounded like Zevran and Oghren had bonded swimmingly, only evidenced by the fact that they had begun to sing some sort of dwarven drinking song that made an interesting duet with Zevran's smooth Antivan voice combined with the harshness of Oghren's. Of course, one could hear the dulcet undertones of Morrigan bickering with Dog that Neria found calming as she walked in silence, Alistair had captured her free hand and had laced their fingers together.
"Eamon knows enough not to divulge our true progress, if he mentions it at all. Of course, he could have even played the card that you recommended as you nursed him yourself: the 'pretend you're still on your deathbed' card, but I may be paraphrasing"
Neria gently pushed Alistair away affectionately at his words with the butt-end of her staff. With reflexes born of a swordsman, Alistair pulled Neria into his arms with a chuckle and ducked his head to capture her lips. He hoisted her up as Neria was pressed as closely as humanly possible to Alistair, with the added bother of his chain mail armor and the layered protective mage robes that Neria wore.
"We need to keep up with everyone"
Neria whispered when they parted to breathe. Alistair shrugged once and took Neria's pack from her after placing her back on the ground, slinging her pack onto his back and then proceeded to pick her up, placing her over his shoulder and broke into a light jog that quickly saw them back with the party. All the while, Neria warred once more with herself that Alistair was her prince charming and that when the Arch Demon was defeated, she would have her happy ever after that she dreamed of having. She was a mage, for Maker's sake! She wasn't meant to be free of the Tower, yet here she was.
The return to Redcliffe was met with cheers of joy and welcome from the inhabitants of Redcliffe village that they had saved when the undead had over run it. When she had left months previously, the village that sat near the Redcliffe Castle was all but in ruins, now however it was well on its way to being restored. The Arl himself had greeted the returned Grey Wardens and their companions in the local tavern, enjoying ale with Oghren and Alistair before retiring to the Castle were they were shown to their quarters before taking part in a great feast.
Afterwards, in the Arl's study Neria and Wynne fussed over Arl Eamon's health- which whilst had improved dramatically since the administration of Andraste's Ashes and the efforts of the two mages, the two mages had agreed that he wasn't where they ideally wanted him to be. As he updated Alistair and Neria fully on the situation with Loghain and Howe, Neria sat at a small worktable, concocting draughts to boost his health and stamina, knowing that he would need it.
"Then there's the possibility of Alistair claiming the throne"
Neria looked up from her work, blanching at the hard look that was given to her at Eamon's sentence. She hadn't spoken with him about what Eamon had proposed to her whilst he had laid in his sickbed. It didn't come as a surprise that Alistair objected to his claim to the throne.
"I am confident that you can rule Alistair. I wouldn't have raised this possibility if I weren't confident that you could rule a nation"
Neria could feel the anger radiating from Alistair as he began to argue his case over why he couldn't or shouldn't rule. Eamon however disagreed and they fell into a debate that reminded her of two family members arguing. Neria stayed silent and continued her task until she had the draught ready for consumption and quickly bottled it with skill harnessed from years of practice in the Circle. Feeling suddenly weary, Neria packed her herb kit back into its pouch and stood up, the scraping of the wooden chair silencing the two arguing men.
"We wouldn't have said this if Eamon hadn't thought you weren't capable. You don't have to fight for the throne Alistair if you don't want too. It cannot hurt to lay out all of the possible solutions to our problem, can it?"
Neria asked both Eamon and Alistair. For the first time since the issue had been raised, Alistair seemed more comfortable at what had been proposed to him. When Alistair promised to consider the matter, Eamon and the two Wardens planned their next moves on the chessboard against Loghain and the darkspawn. It was late in the night when they finally retired to their quarters to rest, but Neria found that she was restless- that she didn't want to settle down in a bed and sleep.
As Redcliffe slept, Neria walked the dim hallways until she reached the roof where she was greeted by the guards who were on night watch. Settling down, Neria sat overlooking the castle and the village, the moon was high in the sky and all but full casting a bright light within the darkness. Even at night, she could see the darkness spreading as a result of the Blight and she had to wonder if Alistair and herself would be able to stop it in time before the darkness consumed all of Feraldan.
"Can't sleep either?"
The elf jumped at the intrusion as she was startled out of her musings and leaping to her feet saw Alistair standing beside her. He let out a laugh at her antics and Neria, embarrassed resumed her original seat muttering to herself on how she was finally going to get rid of the man in front of her. Never the less, she willingly allowed Alistair to pull her into his warm embrace.
"What's Denerim like?"
Neria asked after a brief pause. Alistair didn't answer her as he thought of the best way to describe the walled city of Feraldan. Neria shifted in his embrace so she could lay her head in his lap and look up at the blinking stars. Alistair's free hand came to the elaborate braided coil of hair and gently pulled the fastenings out until the elf's hair went free. Hands combing through her hair, Alistair settled upon his answer.
"It's a crowded city, always busy. I think it'll remind you of the Circle, in a way and a little bit of Orzammar."
Not liking the answer that was given to her, Neria stayed silent. Orzammar had felt like a cage to her, even more so when they had entered into the Deep Roads and then, the thaigs where the cavern roof seemed to mesh with the buildings and there was no ending to the stone except for the streams of lava that occasionally tore its way through the rock. When Neria never replied to Alistair's description of Denerim, Alistair decided to ask her the request that had been heavy on his mind
"In Denerim, if there's time. I was wondering if we could go and visit my half-sister. I discovered her existence through Eamon and it would be nice if I could meet my only living family"
Neria sat up at his words and looked at her loved one in the eyes. She saw his nervousness and the eagerness that came with discovering the existence of a lost family member and Neria was overjoyed for him. Tenderly, she touched his face with both hands and kissed Alistair on the nose; the only action that reminded her of her father.
"Of course, why did you ask?"
She asked him when she sat back, her hands coming to rest on his shoulders. With a big smile, Alistair hugged the elf to his body tightly, never wanting to let her go and as he hugged her, Neria sighed happily in his arms and then began to squirm as Alistair began to tickle her side; laughing. Trying to pull away from him and not succeeding, Neria began to make threats of a magical nature that they both knew she would never follow through with.
"Thank you, Neria. Thank you"
Alistair told her when he stopped, leaving Neria breathless. Panting, Neria sat upright and kissed Alistair on the cheek before standing on trembling legs and smiling down at her loved one and turning on her heel began to walk away from Alistair.
"I'm off to bed; you can share with me if you like"
Neria knew she was being forward with Alistair with her request. As she bounced down the way heading for the door that let her back inside Redcliffe Castle, she heard footsteps behind her and turning around, smiled with happiness when she saw Alistair following after her. His cheeks were red as he followed her silent. When they came to Neria's quarters, he only hesitated for a beat before going into the warm room.
Sinking into the soft bed which took away the aches of sleeping on the hard ground for months on end had sent Neria asleep almost immediately. Turning on her side, Neria sleepily felt a strong arm pulling her flush against a warm body and she turned to be closer to Alistair, content and happy despite the darkening times.
